Studies on the surface properties of hybrid cells. I. Sialyl-transferase activity in homogenates of malignant and non-malignant cells.

We report here a method for the assay of the sialyl-transferase activity in crude homogenates of a wide range of cell lines growing in tissue culture. Our results indicate that particulate preparations from both malignant and non-malignant cells show a Km of 0.25 mM towards CMP-sialic acid in the presence of an excess of glycoprotein acceptor. There appear to be increased amounts of the enzyme associated with the preparations from malignant sources which are reflected in an increase in the apparent Vmax of these. The elevated level of sialyl-transferase activity seen in the malignant cell populations is, paradoxically, associated with a decrease in the amount of bound sialic acid associated with both the whole cell homogenate preparations and the surface of these cells.